Liz Arum's Blog http://blog.lizarum.com I teach tech and share it Thu, 29 Sep 2011 16:29:14 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.3 3D Printing in the Classroom http://blog.lizarum.com/2011/09/3d-printing-in-the-classroom/ http://blog.lizarum.com/2011/09/3d-printing-in-the-classroom/#comments Thu, 29 Sep 2011 16:29:14 +0000 Lizabeth Arum http://blog.lizarum.com/?p=514

I spent the summer helping Makerbot Industries develop educational curriculum. The start of this ambitious project can be found at http://curricum.makerbot.com. This is just the beginning, and I would love for other educators to contribute their ideas and lesson plans so that there is a community of teachers that can explore 3D printing in their classrooms and inspire their students to create, invent and engage in the engineering process.

I currently have two Thing-O-Matics in my classroom and my students are using a variety of software to create their own models: 3dtin.com, tinkercad.com, sketchup, blender and openscad. Yesterday I came across local-guru.net‘s CookieCutter-editor and I can’t wait to make NY State, some tessellations and maybe even symbolic representations of poetry and narratives. Anyone want an Edger Allen Poe Raven cookie?

Don’t know about 3D printing, or think it would be difficult to incorporate in your curriculum? Then check out last night’s Make Live episode.

Tinkercad Demonstration

]]> http://blog.lizarum.com/2011/09/3d-printing-in-the-classroom/feed/ 3 Recent readings http://blog.lizarum.com/2011/07/500/ http://blog.lizarum.com/2011/07/500/#comments Mon, 04 Jul 2011 18:16:06 +0000 Lizabeth Arum http://blog.lizarum.com/?p=500 Just finished reading Dan Ariely’s The Upside of Irrationality. Significant chapters in terms of teaching were Chapters 1, 2 and 3: Paying More for Less: Why Big Bonuses Don’t Always Work, The Meaning of Labor: What Legos Can Teach Us about the Joy of Work, and The IKEA Effect: Why We Overvalue What We Make.

Some of the take-aways include:

  • Encourage students on their efforts. Everyone works better if their work is appreciated
  • Students enjoy work if they can see a purpose and perhaps even get an opportunity to show off their efforts
  • Students enjoy the act of creativity and making. Even if they are following instructions, the fact that they are part of the process creates a stronger relationship with the product.
]]> http://blog.lizarum.com/2011/07/500/feed/ 0 More servo projects http://blog.lizarum.com/2011/07/more-servo-projects/ http://blog.lizarum.com/2011/07/more-servo-projects/#comments Mon, 04 Jul 2011 18:06:10 +0000 Lizabeth Arum http://blog.lizarum.com/?p=497 Just got a moment to post these servo projects from last semester. Students were given the challenge to create a drawing machine or a cuckoo clock type device. These are some of the solutions the students came up with:
Cuckoo Clock solution
An automata
An egg automata
Another automata
A drawing machine
A bird automata
Another drawing machine

]]> http://blog.lizarum.com/2011/07/more-servo-projects/feed/ 0 Day 8: Cigar Box Synthesizers http://blog.lizarum.com/2011/06/day-8-cigar-box-synthesizers/ http://blog.lizarum.com/2011/06/day-8-cigar-box-synthesizers/#comments Tue, 28 Jun 2011 22:29:50 +0000 Lizabeth Arum http://blog.lizarum.com/?p=473 Another David Erik Nelson Snip, Burn, Solder, Shredinspired project.

P1180561 P1180571 P1180580 P1180604 P1180674 P1180680 P1180719 P1180722 P1180725 P1180784 P1180807 P1180808 P1180813 P1180820 P1180822 Untitled-2 ]]> http://blog.lizarum.com/2011/06/day-8-cigar-box-synthesizers/feed/ 0 Day 7: Jitterbot and Soft Resistor http://blog.lizarum.com/2011/06/day-7-jitterbot-and-soft-resistor/ http://blog.lizarum.com/2011/06/day-7-jitterbot-and-soft-resistor/#comments Tue, 28 Jun 2011 22:00:18 +0000 Lizabeth Arum http://blog.lizarum.com/?p=448 Two projects today. The first inspired by David Erik Nelson’s book Snip, Burn, Solder, Shred. The second is a modified Drawdio circuit.

P1180235 P1180288 P1180294 P1180301 P1180311 P1180314 P1180370 P1180391 P1180396 P1180428 P1180413 P1180424 P1180442 P1180445 P1180464 P1180505 P1180527 P1180529 P1180537 P1180545 P1180548 P1180552 ]]> http://blog.lizarum.com/2011/06/day-7-jitterbot-and-soft-resistor/feed/ 0 Day 6: Dark Detector, an Annoyatron http://blog.lizarum.com/2011/06/day-6-dark-detector-an-annoyatron/ http://blog.lizarum.com/2011/06/day-6-dark-detector-an-annoyatron/#comments Tue, 28 Jun 2011 21:11:47 +0000 Lizabeth Arum http://blog.lizarum.com/?p=440 An alarm sounds when it gets P1180164 P1180178 P1180182 P1180185 P1180187 P1180199 dark.

]]> http://blog.lizarum.com/2011/06/day-6-dark-detector-an-annoyatron/feed/ 0 Day 4: Voodoo Doll http://blog.lizarum.com/2011/06/day-4-voodoo-doll/ http://blog.lizarum.com/2011/06/day-4-voodoo-doll/#comments Tue, 28 Jun 2011 20:32:35 +0000 Lizabeth Arum http://blog.lizarum.com/?p=412 A soft circuit. Stick a needle through the heart to light up the eyes.

P1180002 P1180004 P1180008 P1180016 P1180019 P1180021 P1180022 P1180024 P1180025 P1180026 P1180028 P1180029 P1180031 P1180032 P1180033 P1180034 P1180037 P1180039 ]]> http://blog.lizarum.com/2011/06/day-4-voodoo-doll/feed/ 0 Day 3: Tremolo http://blog.lizarum.com/2011/06/day-3-tremolo/ http://blog.lizarum.com/2011/06/day-3-tremolo/#comments Tue, 28 Jun 2011 20:16:15 +0000 Lizabeth Arum http://blog.lizarum.com/?p=398 A tremolo is the rapid oscillation in volume that gives the guitar its cool vibrating sound.

The heart of the Blinkie Tremolo effect is a homemade optoisolator made from an LED and a Light Dependent Resistor (LDR). The LDR controls the volume of the audio signal. As the LED shines on the LDR, the resistance drops and the audio comes through. As the LED dims, resistance increases and the sound fades. The 555 timer circuit rhythmically pulses the LED, which in turn, pulses the volume, giving you the vibration effect.

This project was inspired by David Erik Nelson’s book Snip, Burn, Solder, Shred

P1170770 P1170787 P1170828 P1170840 P1170851 P1170876 P1170885 P1170899 P1170904 P1170908 ]]> http://blog.lizarum.com/2011/06/day-3-tremolo/feed/ 0 Day 2: Junk Guitars and Amps http://blog.lizarum.com/2011/06/day-2-junk-guitars-and-amps/ http://blog.lizarum.com/2011/06/day-2-junk-guitars-and-amps/#comments Tue, 28 Jun 2011 19:14:49 +0000 Lizabeth Arum http://blog.lizarum.com/?p=372 Inspired by David Erik Nelson’s book Snip, Burn, Solder, Shred and NYCResistor’s Ranjit Bhatnagar, workshop attendees made piezo pick ups, junk guitars and mini-amps. P1170744 P1170746 P1170747 P1170748 P1170750 P1180618 P1180605 P1180627 P1170831 P1170886 P1170887 P1170894 P1180700 P1180708 P1180755 P1180777 P1180787 P1180790 P1180800

]]> http://blog.lizarum.com/2011/06/day-2-junk-guitars-and-amps/feed/ 0 Day 1: The Joule Thief http://blog.lizarum.com/2011/06/day-1-the-joule-thief/ http://blog.lizarum.com/2011/06/day-1-the-joule-thief/#comments Tue, 28 Jun 2011 18:50:27 +0000 Lizabeth Arum http://blog.lizarum.com/?p=369 Joule thief allows you to boost the voltage of a dying battery.

Combining the following sources:

  • Instructables, Cat Burglar Joule Thief, January 26, 2008
  • Makezine:The Sympathy Doll
  • Makezine:Joule Thief
  • http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2008/01/led_softie.html
  • http://www.emanator.demon.co.uk/bigclive/joule.htm

workshop participants made joule thieves, then embedded them in cute animals.

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